E. Idaho, Puppy used as "Target Practice" (low income, buy)
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When someone's dog is killing your animals, and that person will not keep their dog home because they want it to be "free to run", there comes a point where there isn't much choice but to shoot it. When 4 dogs have the neighbor's horse cornered in barb wire and are leaping and lunging at its throat, sorry, they need to be shot at. It sucks to have to kill someone's dog and my course of action has always been to fire warning shots the first time or two unless livestock is in immediate danger (as the horse was). Tell ya what though, it sucks worse to see your favorite livestock animal mauled and half dead with its guts hanging out because Suzy Newcomer thought it was OK for Brutus to "play" with your animals. I realize that there are sadists in this world who shoot dogs for the heck of it, but my experience has been that predation on livestock by dogs far exceeds any damage done by the high profile wild predators.
I think if that were the case here, folks would be much more understanding...but this was just some sick **** that wanted to shoot at puppies.
Oh, I agree about the puppies. I was responding to another post in this thread. Also, to be honest, when my family moved here, we did not know that it was NOT OK to let our dogs "roam free". We felt betrayed and upset when our roaming dogs disappeared without a trace. This is something newcomers should know about.
Oh, I agree about the puppies. I was responding to another post in this thread. Also, to be honest, when my family moved here, we did not know that it was NOT OK to let our dogs "roam free". We felt betrayed and upset when our roaming dogs disappeared without a trace. This is something newcomers should know about.
I think if dogs are a problem people ought to let the owner know first and give them a chance to solve the issue. Some dogs are just a part of a town............. We have a doctor here in town that let his dog roam and everyone knew "Spot" we were all sad to see him die and not roaming the streets of our small town.
Stray dogs are another problem, but humane societies are more than willing to take them in, most of the time.
I think this is more on the side of a real sick individual and punishment is deserved. Not sure, why people think dogs are such a problem when roaming, they certainly do not deserve to be tortured. This sounds like the person was dumping the pups and trying to kill them at the same time, maybe, even to dumb to know where to shoot them for the pups to die quickly.
I think if dogs are a problem people ought to let the owner know first and give them a chance to solve the issue. Some dogs are just a part of a town............. We have a doctor here in town that let his dog roam and everyone knew "Spot" we were all sad to see him die and not roaming the streets of our small town.
Stray dogs are another problem, but humane societies are more than willing to take them in, most of the time.
I think this is more on the side of a real sick individual and punishment is deserved. Not sure, why people think dogs are such a problem when roaming, they certainly do not deserve to be tortured. This sounds like the person was dumping the pups and trying to kill them at the same time, maybe, even to dumb to know where to shoot them for the pups to die quickly.
It is real difficult to say what motives prompted the puppy shooter. Although I'm like you, and would like to think it's a person who is sick in the head, dogs, cats, birds, cattle, sheep, hogs, horses, and everything else that lives in the countryside gets shot, whether wild or domestic. It is a sad fact of country life.
I think a lot of it comes from 2 things: boredom, especially with kids, and the other is simply they can do it and get away with it. That last applies more to adults than kids.
I hunted when I was younger, but I only hunted game. I never saw any pleasure in varmint hunting because I never wanted to eat any varmint. I have killed a couple of sheep eating coyotes, and that's it.
And given the severely high cost of hunting these days, I'm more content to just carry a camera now- it's open season all year round with a camera, and I can shoot anything I see a bunch of times, then come back next year and shoot them some more. And all their kids, too. I'll buy a beef for the freezer from my nephew. He needs the money, and I can pick the cow.
Some years ago, here in Utah, I went to my favorite (relatively unknown) shooting place in the desert and found five very young puppies shot to death.
Now, I might have got my hackles raised but I realized that someone probably had pups that they couldn't feed, and no one wanted. Rather than turn them loose to fend for themselves (and most if not all would have died in the process), it is more humane to shoot them. Where I live, it's 100 miles to the animal shelter.
All puppies were shot humanely, but I wish the dumba$$ had taken the time to bury them! He KNEW it was a shooting area because there was a shooting bench 30 feet away. Obviously, he'd come to the place before. They made a stink over the next month or so. I left them out as a reminder to bury them, if he should return. No one ever did. A year later, only bones in the dirt remained.
Now, in this case, the shooter should be severely sentenced for animal cruelty -- for not ensuring the puppies he shot were dead. He should be convicted of a felony, so he loses his right to own or even handle a firearm for the rest of his life.
What an idiot.
People need to spay or neuter their pets, thats all there is to it. I know its an extra expense that most people dont want to incur, but when considering if you should have a pet you have to consider all the money the proper care of the pet will cost you. I mean, if your dog has a broken leg, are you going to spend the money to take it to the vet, or just shoot it because a bullet is cheaper?
I could go on and on, but Im not going to....i just think people need to get it through their heads that they MUST spay & neuter
People need to spay or neuter their pets, thats all there is to it. I know its an extra expense that most people dont want to incur, but when considering if you should have a pet you have to consider all the money the proper care of the pet will cost you. I mean, if your dog has a broken leg, are you going to spend the money to take it to the vet, or just shoot it because a bullet is cheaper?
I could go on and on, but Im not going to....i just think people need to get it through their heads that they MUST spay & neuter
What's sad is the vet's are charging an outrageous amount to spay and neuter. My son got a dog and they wanted almost $300.00 to neuter him. I even called 50 miles away, thinking my small town vet's were over charging. Happen to be he's a pit mix and the humane society did it for $25.00, of course I paid them more for doing it so cheap. Vet's are making money on spaying and neutering, seems like this would be more of a contribution to citizen's and their pet's. The vet's should offer it at a lower price.
What's sad is the vet's are charging an outrageous amount to spay and neuter. My son got a dog and they wanted almost $300.00 to neuter him. I even called 50 miles away, thinking my small town vet's were over charging. Happen to be he's a pit mix and the humane society did it for $25.00, of course I paid them more for doing it so cheap. Vet's are making money on spaying and neutering, seems like this would be more of a contribution to citizen's and their pet's. The vet's should offer it at a lower price.
That does seem high to me.
In comparison:
A couple of years ago, I got a puppy that, when I took him to be neutered, was found to have an un-descended testicle. This needs a full surgical procedure, unlike the common castration methods, which are all external. That neutering cost me less than $200, but I had to buy some necessary anti-biotics, and had to pay for a necessary post-surgery inspection. I can't remember exactly how much the total was, but I recall it all was less than $300.
But vets have to make money, just like all of us. While $300 might seem high to an Idahoan, it might be a real bargain if I was living in Denver, or Chicago, or Atlanta. I know city folks pay a lot more for pet care than country folks, and I'm sure much of the difference is in the overhead.
I have never castrated a dog, but have done many cattle and sheep. It must be done carefully, but it is not a complicated procedure if everything is normal. Of course the smaller the animal, the more difficult the procedure.
A lot of cattle men neuter their dogs with a 'calf ring'- it's essentially a very strong small rubber band that fits on an expanding device. The expanded ring is slipped over the testes and the then the ring is released. It cuts off the blood flow, causing the testes to eventually drop off. The small wound heals quickly, as there is no external cut. These are a fast and humane way of castrating calves.
They work on larger dogs, but very possibly not on small breeds. It doesn't seem to bother the dogs any more than the calves, but, as always with this stuff, attention to healing must be paid diligently.
In the case of my puppy, use of the calf ring may have caused the testicle to descend, so it wouldn't have been effective. And I'm not recommending this method at all, or promoting it; please take this as just a comment only.
Sorry if this post upsets any readers! Working with livestock creates a certain frankness of expression by necessity. 'Neutering' is a more pleasant term, but isn't adequate when it comes to specifics.
That does seem high to me.
In comparison:
A couple of years ago, I got a puppy that, when I took him to be neutered, was found to have an un-descended testicle. This needs a full surgical procedure, unlike the common castration methods, which are all external. That neutering cost me less than $200, but I had to buy some necessary anti-biotics, and had to pay for a necessary post-surgery inspection. I can't remember exactly how much the total was, but I recall it all was less than $300.
But vets have to make money, just like all of us. While $300 might seem high to an Idahoan, it might be a real bargain if I was living in Denver, or Chicago, or Atlanta. I know city folks pay a lot more for pet care than country folks, and I'm sure much of the difference is in the overhead.
I have never castrated a dog, but have done many cattle and sheep. It must be done carefully, but it is not a complicated procedure if everything is normal. Of course the smaller the animal, the more difficult the procedure.
A lot of cattle men neuter their dogs with a 'calf ring'- it's essentially a very strong small rubber band that fits on an expanding device. The expanded ring is slipped over the testes and the then the ring is released. It cuts off the blood flow, causing the testes to eventually drop off. The small wound heals quickly, as there is no external cut. These are a fast and humane way of castrating calves.
They work on larger dogs, but very possibly not on small breeds. It doesn't seem to bother the dogs any more than the calves, but, as always with this stuff, attention to healing must be paid diligently.
In the case of my puppy, use of the calf ring may have caused the testicle to descend, so it wouldn't have been effective. And I'm not recommending this method at all, or promoting it; please take this as just a comment only.
Sorry if this post upsets any readers! Working with livestock creates a certain frankness of expression by necessity. 'Neutering' is a more pleasant term, but isn't adequate when it comes to specifics.
I do believe vet's need to make money, but have to wonder if the overprice of spaying and neutering is needed. Animals are not like people in knowing to abstain from sex Just seems so much breeding and unwanted pets are leaving us with a huge problem with animals with no care.
I'm not sure what the answer will be, humane society's are trying to put so much restrictions on those that would like to adopt. Adopting a pet at a shelter is becoming like adopting a child, with home visits, signing papers to never give the dog to another person to take over the list of some insane animal adopting procedures are becoming quit out of hand. I've even seen humane societies turn a pet away because it wasn't a stray, which, leaves owners panicking to get rid of the animal in a bad way.
Yes, I do understand those who work with livestock have different ways of expressing, it just takes some getting use to if you haven't been around rancher's.
I've learned a lot about livestock and rancher's since coming to Idaho.
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This sounds like the person was dumping the pups and trying to kill them at the same time, maybe, even to dumb to know where to shoot them for the pups to die quickly. 
Just seems so much breeding and unwanted pets are leaving us with a huge problem with animals with no care.
